Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born February 21, 1991) is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and has since played roles in films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), and The Brutalist (2024), as well as the BBC and Hulu drama series Conversations with Friends (2022). Born in Kent and raised in North London, Alwyn developed an interest in acting during his teenage years. He acted in student productions at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and obtained BA degrees in English literature and drama, and acting, from the University of Bristol (2012), and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2015), respectively. He is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and has won the Trophée Chopard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and appeared on the 2022 Time 100 Next list of rising stars.

Filmography

• 2027Panic Carefully
• 2026Hamlet — Laertes
• 2025Hamnet — Bartholomew
• 2024Kinds of Kindness — Collectibles Appraiser / Passenger / Joseph
• 2024The Brutalist — Harry Lee
• 2023A Very Short Film About Longing
• 2022Catherine Called Birdy — Uncle George
• Conversations with Friends — Nick Conway
• 2022Stars at Noon — Daniel
• 2021The Last Letter from Your Lover — Lawrence Stirling
• 2021The Souvenir: Part II — Max
• A Christmas Carol — Bob Cratchit
• 2019FX's A Christmas Carol — Bob Cratchit
• 2019Harriet — Gideon Brodess
• 2018Boy Erased — Henry Wallace
• 2018Mary Queen of Scots — Robert Dudley
• 2018Operation Finale — Klaus Eichmann
• 2018The Favourite — Masham
• 2017The Sense of an Ending — Adrian Finn Sr.
• 2016Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk — Billy Lynn
• Cavendish — Barlow
• Legacy of Spies — Jim Prideaux
• Still We Met — Isaac
• Séance on a Wet Afternoon — Charles Clayton
• The Husbands — Michael
• The Origin of the World

Appearances as themselves (6)

• 2025Inside Look: Hamnet — Self
• 2020Miss Americana — Self
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• The Oscars — Self - Presenter